


Alydale After Dark

by Frothulhu



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Blow Jobs, Drinking, Explicit Consent, F/M, Hand Jobs, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Oral Sex, Praise Kink, Public Blow Jobs, Public Sex, Rakasha is a service top, Sloppy Makeouts, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, implied prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:40:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27126661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frothulhu/pseuds/Frothulhu
Summary: A short collection of adult themed one-shots for my DND group. These stories are much like Dragonball Z movies in that they're not canon.Enjoy
Relationships: Rakasha/Virani, Virasha
Kudos: 3





	1. Slow Like Honey

**Author's Note:**

> I hope I do your characters justice guys.

“Virani, are you gonna stay with Rakasha for the night?”   
  
“...Sure.”   
  
Virani didn’t hear Rakasha when he requested a single King bed. She had only heard Astrid’s question and jumped at the opportunity to sleep in moderate luxury on someone else’s dime. He hadn’t batted an eye when she had  _ oh so casually _ accepted his, apparent, open offer. There had been so many other opportunities for the two of them to be alone like this in the past and she had always (perhaps foolishly) passed it up. If Rakasha had ulterior motives, they weren’t (and had never been) obvious, but that was sort of his gig. That was then, this was now, and she was going to be spending the night with Rakasha.    
  
The two of them stop in front of the room together, Rakasha opening the door with the rented key. He walks into the room, boots hitting the wooden floor solidly as he heads in and drops his almost comically large bag, overflowing with bullshit, with a thud on the ground. Virani remains in the doorway, staring at the single bed in the center of the room.    
  
A single king size bed. Sharing a bed with Rakasha. It seems she’s doomed to sleep poorly for yet another night.   
  
After an extended moment, Rakasha notices that Virani hasn’t yet entered the room. He looks up at her curiously from his kneeling position on the ground next to his bag. He had begun digging through his things while Virani stared at what she had unknowingly signed up for - sharing a bed with Rakasha. With stupid, sexy Rakasha. Stupid sexy Rakasha who was so stupid he didn’t realize how sexy he was!!   
  
“Everything alright?” he asks with a slightly quirked brow, breaking through the spell. She shakes her head, as if clearing the fog, and walks into the room with a level of confidence she doesn’t feel. Perhaps he could see through it. They were both good at reading people. If he can, however, he doesn’t comment on her facade.    
  
“Yeah! Fine!” she says quickly, her voice tight in a way that  _ she _ doesn’t notice but that Rakasha does. Virani doesn’t see the small smile tugging the corners of his lips. He doesn’t question her, either way. They settle in, Rakasha pulling out his notebook and flipping through the pages quietly as he sits on the massive bed. Virani pretends to study her notes, filling out her own journal with the details collected from their (apparent four day) tryst in the Abyss. She is significantly more distracted by her roommate, however, who hums as he scribbles in his journal. He must be able to feel her eyes on him, though Rakasha could be surprisingly empty minded, at times. Either way, he doesn’t look up at her.   
  
Must be all the time spent with Cassonetto.   
  
Eventually, together, they head back down to the lobby to feast off of the buffett - an expensive dinner at one point the price didn’t even make them blink. Rakasha orders three hefty glasses of honey mead - rich and thick in the glass, not at all watered down and making it more potent. Still, compared to the last time the two of them drank, Rakasha and Virani both manage to hold their alcohol and are, by and large, less tipsy than usual when the team breaks for the night and heads to their rooms.    
  
\- -    
  
Despite everything, Rakasha seems to be a bit restless that night. He quietly strums on his lute, singing to himself in a way that doesn’t intend to be disturbing to Virani. She finds herself listening to his playing, finding a comfort in it. He always played as they enjoyed meals around the camp in the bubble, singing common songs, as well as some of his own works. He was currently, clearly, working on something, and Virani felt as if she were seeing something hidden and sacred - a bard working diligently on his craft. He doesn’t play or sing loudly, even when he notices that Virani is listening to him. He does make an effort to mumble less, however, and she vaguely wonders why he’s writing a song about lemons.    
  
\- -   
  
Virani thinks she may die when Rakasha climbs into the bed next to her. He’s dressed, thankfully, but not in much. Rakasha always tended to be allergic to shirts - especially if it was any hotter outside than “comfortably warm” - but  _ pants _ ? Of course he would be allergic to pants at night - he was going to sleep! At least he had some shorts on. She tries to keep her back to him, flipping over quickly with a flush she’s  _ certain _ is glowing bright red on her face. Thankfully, darkvision means he can’t see colour, if he can see her face.    
  
This was a king bed and they were both thin. Honestly, the amount of space for the  _ both _ of them was ridiculous. Rakasha was really going to sleep in this bed  _ by himself _ ? Was. Until Astrid suggested she stay in Rakasha’s room and she took the bait of a nice bed on someone else’s dime like a sucker. Now she had to share a bed with a beautiful man. Many people would have envied her plight - she, meanwhile, hopes that the alcohol makes it easy to sleep so she doesn’t have to think about how close he is and how pretty he is.   
  
And now naked he is.   
  
“Good night, Virani,” Rakasha mutters to her, his accent a bit slurred by the alcohol in his system.    
  
“Night.”   
  
Rakasha finishes shifting and settles down into the bed, his weight noticeable behind her. He isn’t close, giving her quite a respectful amount of space on the bed. She waits, staring at the wall through the darkness as his breathing levels out and he seemingly falls asleep quickly. Virani chances a peek over her shoulder at him. He, much like her, is facing away, but there is significantly more space between them than she expects.   


After a moment, she realizes Rakasha is hugging the edge of the bed. Something about that makes her relax significantly. Virani smiles at the realization. Rakasha really is being a gentleman - making sure to give her plenty of room. It’s meaningful to her that he’s being respectful and making sure she’s comfortable. Not that she ever expected that he would be anything but respectful, but the obvious effort he’s making in giving her plenty of space stands out.    
  
Virani must stare for too long. Rakasha isn’t asleep, and in that moment his mop of black hair shifts as he looks over his shoulder at her, his movement a bit startling.   
  
“Everything alright, love?”   
  
Her face burns a little at getting caught, “Y-yeah. Can’t sleep I guess.”   
  
“Well, s’only been five minutes. Have you tried closing your eyes?”   
  
She stares at the back of his head, her mouth a hard line. She can hear the mischief in his tone and the half grin on his lips.   
  
“No, I hadn’t tried that. Thanks for the tip.”   
  
“Happy to help!”

Virani huffs but ends up rolling onto her other side, facing his back. Staring at Rakasha’s skin in the light of the moon was far more interesting than the wall she had been facing. The space between them allows her to breathe without breathing on him and alerting him to the fact that she was being a weirdo and staring at him while he was sleeping. She was always too busy flipping out and trying her damndest to  _ not _ stare at him when his shirt was off that she never noticed little details about his body.    
  
The skin of the illusion he wears is pale, almost glowing in the moonlight streaming from the window. Virani notices the scars - some obviously new, from their current travels - but others are old and faded. Idly she wonders about the stories behind some of them, eyes scanning over his body. When she takes in the bigger picture, however, she realises that not an insignificant number of the scars are whip strikes. Virani’s eyes widen a bit and she lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.    
  
Rakasha was cagey about his past. They hadn’t known each other long, relatively. A few months. Virani didn’t expect him to be open and forthright about the life he had lived before meeting them. Not yet, at least. When he had to be honest about his dead wife, the discomfort he had felt was palpable to her. He expected rejection. These scars were just a small indicator of why.    
  
Virani doesn’t know why she touches them. Perhaps it’s the alcohol causing her emotions to spiral, making her want to comfort him. Thinking about whatever it was that hurt him and made him recoil preemptively when it came to talking about himself made her heart ache with pity. Her fingers press to his skin gently, feeling the smooth scarring. She gets a bit lost in the contrast of their illusions, her brown skin on his pale. Her touch shifts over his skin, feeling the ridges but somehow completely missing the way he subtly tenses up at her touch.    
  
Rakasha turns suddenly, facing her. He’s closer than he was a moment ago, his hands touching hers. Virani gasps, not having expected his sudden shift. He stares at her, lids heavy, but expression unreadable. After a moment, his lips twitch up in a lazy half grin.    
  
“You’re really pretty,” he mutters, voice low. The sudden compliment gives her pause and she stares at him, her eyes widening a bit.   
  
“W-wha…?” Virani’s face flushes slowly as she sits with those words for several beats. Instantly, she convinces herself that she misheard him. He had been drinking and muttering and sometimes his accent was weird and thick and--   
  
Rakasha is kissing her. Virani thinks her heart is attempting to escape its prison in her chest. He has to hear it. He has to hear how loud it is. It’s all she can hear as she slowly melts against him. She’s returning his kiss, even though she wants to flee. Flee, not because she doesn’t want to be kissing Rakasha (she very much wants to be kissing Rakasha), but because the feelings of anxiety are overwhelming and her first instinct is to run. 

She never allowed herself to freely think about what it would be like to kiss Rakasha, but whatever minorly drunken fantasizing she had been doing was nothing compared to the real thing. His lips were soft and gentle against hers, giving her the freedom and space to flee if she truly wished. Slowly he slides an arm around her and pulls her the rest of the way to him, keeping the touch loose and light. Virani allows herself to be pulled, silently indulging in the feeling of his body against hers.    
  
Finally, he breaks the kiss, but doesn’t pull too far back away from her. Rakasha is silent for a moment, giving his lips an absent lick as he regards her. Their bodies are still touching and he’s still holding her. Virani settles against him, enjoying the feeling of his body against hers like this. She’s a bit woozy from the kiss. Rakasha is still so close. She wants more kisses from him.   
  
“Is this alright?” he asks quietly. She can feel his breath on her lips and the weight of his hand on the small of her back.    
  
“Uhhh…”    
  
He chuckles quietly, his hand shifting just slightly. Rakasha gives her another peck to her slightly parted lips.    
  
“I’m not going to keep going unless I have your permission,” he says, his voice low and thick with  _ something _ that sends a weird shiver down her spine. He gently rubs his nose with hers, so close that she can feel his lips move when he speaks again.    
  
“Do you want this, Virani…?”   
  
Why was her heart so loud? The entire building could probably hear it from how hard and loud it was pounding in her ears. He was really…? Rakasha wanted to...with her?    
  
They had gone to the Abyss and come out on the other side, relatively unscathed. Maybe it was the thought that being back home on the material plane was a weird sort of second chance and that maybe she should take this entire situation as A Sign. Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was both.   
  
Fuck it.   
  
“Yeah…” she breathes out her response, almost between her teeth. Virani doesn’t have a chance to wonder if Rakasha hears her, as he’s kissing her again. This time, his kiss is hard and full of boiling heat that immediately threatens to overwhelm her. His hand slides from the small of her back to the swell of her ass and squeezes gently, slowly, as if he’s  _ indulging _ . Had he thought about this? About her? About… touching her butt???   
  
_??????????? _   
  
Virani doesn’t have much room to think. Rakasha turns the heat up but keeps the pace relatively slow. They kiss for longer than she expects considering the heat behind them. Rakasha’s tongue tastes faintly of honey, tangling with hers when he deepens their kiss further. Virani allows him to guide her onto her back, the hand on her ass leaving to gently press her down onto the bed. She shifts easily, moving with Rakasha’s gentle guidance. He settles comfortably over Virani’s body after kicking away the blankets.    
  
Their lips meet again in a kiss that is quickly deepened by Rakasha. There’s the soft sounds of sucking lips, little grunts and moans from either or both of them, and the thunderous pounding of Virani’s heart. Rakasha’s hands move, sliding down her form to push the shirt of her night clothes up to expose her breasts. He doesn’t stop kissing her, confidently fondling the small but soft mounds of flesh in his hands. Her soft gasps are swallowed up in his mouth, his thumb flicking over one nipple to tease and then gently pinch. Virani whimpers softly, absently pressing her chest up into his hand to further encourage his teasing. Rakasha gives equal attention to the opposite side, gently fondling and pinching her nipples into being wonderfully hard and perhaps a bit irritated. After a point, she starts to writhe a bit under him. Her whimpering against his mouth is becoming less swallowed up by him.    
  
Rakasha’s hand relents, much to her relief (or disappointment? It was hard to think) and continues its journey down her body. Virani is quickly distracted by the fact that she can  _ feel _ just how excited Rakasha is against her thigh, the bulge of his arousal pressing against her skin through the fabric of his shorts. One of her hands begins its own journey down his body, feeling his skin. She shouldn’t feel ashamed for groping him, Virani reasons with herself. After all, he did the same to her.   
  
Rakasha doesn’t pull away, letting her touch him. His hand pauses, letting her touch him. Her hand slides down slowly, the two of them seemingly sitting there to await the end of the trail. She takes her time, feeling over his chest. Her fingers catch on the slight dips of his ribs. He was still thin, but no longer alarmingly so. The wonders regular access to meals did. Rakasha’s belly caves in a shuddering breath as Virani’s curious hand dips lower from his chest, to his stomach and then even lower.    
  
Virani lets out a breath as her hand slips over the bulge of his excitement and cups him. He pulses, heavy in her hand. She tilts her head to peer down, to try and catch a glimpse in the moonlight but Rakasha’s fingers catch her chin to tilt back up.   
  
“My eyes are up here, darling…”    
  
Before she can protest, his lips cover hers. Virani fondles him absently, attention pulled more sharply towards Rakasha’s kiss than his dick in her hand. Rakasha’s touch down her body resumes, though his hand moves more quickly. He makes no attempt to hide his final destination, sliding his hand down the front of her shorts to touch her directly. His fingers slip through the slick folds of her pussy, gently feeling and teasing. Her legs part a bit more, shuddering under him at the feeling of his touch in such a sensitive place.   
  
Virani squeezes him in return, her own hand slipping into the front of his shorts, as well. Now they were evenly matched, her hand circling around him as she tries desperately to not focus on how thick he feels. He moans softly in her ear as she strokes him and he returns the pleasure given. They exchange kisses through their mutual teasing, Rakasha managing to harden up even more in her hand. Gently, he rubs and teases her, fingers expertly causing sparks up her spine and her hips to roll towards the pleasure. It’s quite distracting and her hand falters some when he presses two fingers carefully into her.    
  
Rakasha breaks his kiss and begins to trail them down to her neck. Absently, she tilts her head to the side and he attacks it, gently biting and kissing. Her legs open more as he carefully fingers her, digits curled just so and rubbing over the most sensitive place inside her. It makes her thighs tremble and she lets out a sharp gasp of pleasure, biting back the moan she wants to give.

Virani bites her lip when Rakasha trails more kisses down her body, away from her neck and to her chest. His fingers are never steady long enough to do more than endlessly tease, but it makes her so slick that she can hear the way his fingers work in and out of her. He slows their pace, focusing most of his attention on her chest.    
  
Rakasha trails hot kisses from her collar to her breast, almost lovingly kissing over the soft swell of flesh. He presses sweet pecks against her nipple, coaxing it back to hardness before flicking his tongue over it and sucking gently. Virani whines, a hand sliding up his back and into his hair. Rakasha’s fingers are maddeningly slow and she’s getting to the point where she wants more. She clutches tight around them trying to desperately roll up against his hand at a pace she wants. Rakasha simply pulls his fingers out of her, making her whine louder in protest.    
  
“Ah, ah...not yet,” he murmurs low and quiet. He presses a kiss to her belly, peering up at her. Even in the low light of the moon, the cerulean blue of his eyes is striking and she almost imagines she can see the blue orbs of his true eyes below the illusion.    
  
Stupid sexy Rakasha.   
  
Virani can only whimper softly. Gently, Rakasha rubs his fingers through her folds again, but only lightly. Enough to tease. Enough to drive her mad. She wriggles under him, almost fussing.   
  
“Only good girls get to come, Virani… now are you going to be a good girl and be patient for me?”   
  
Virani stops her wriggling, nearly having a stroke at that. Gods above. “Good girl”? Her already flushed face burns even brighter and she can only nod as she thinks she feels herself drip against his fingers.   
  
“Mmh? What’s that? I can’t hear you…” Rakasha says quietly with a quirked brow, his fingers slowing to the point where they may as well not be moving at all. Virani whines in response, but nods quickly again.   
  
“Y-yes! Yes!” her voice cracks a bit when she answers him, her need obvious in her tone.    
  
“Good girl…”   
  
Virani sighs with  _ relief _ when his fingers push back into her, so slick and ready for more she doesn’t seem to notice he’s using three. Rakasha works them in and out of her at a steady pace, directly teasing her g spot frequently. He continues to trail kisses down her belly, tongue snaking out to trail over the outline of the toned muscles of her belly. He then kisses the bones of her hips sweetly, making them shake slightly with the anticipation. Rakasha was so close to her...    
  
A second hand is quickly in his hair when his tongue joins his fingers in teasing her. When had he pushed off her shorts? Virani is reminded in this moment that Rakasha is emphatically not new to this. He guides her legs over his shoulders after a moment of eating her out before resuming his pace. She’s so excited already, his tongue is just a wonderful bonus treat. Her thighs tremble steadily with the intensity of the pleasure, almost bordering on overstimulation. His tongue is skilled, flicking gently against her clit before his lips suckle at it carefully. Her fingers curl and she cannot help the moan that spills past her lips.    
  
The hand not bringing her to ecstasy holds her, slipped slightly under her hip to grip onto her tightly. Rakasha is intently focused on  _ her _ pleasure and in that moment, she feels like the only girl in the world. Virani lifts one of her hands to cover her mouth, the other tugging at Rakasha’s hair to try to pull him closer to her. With the way her legs tremble, she’s so incredibly close to losing it under him.   
  
Virani writhes a bit, one leg sliding off of Rakasha’s shoulder as he presses closer to her. She presses her hips up, close to his tongue and closer to his fingers. He sucks steadily on her clit, fingers pumping in and out of her quickly. Virani is soon on the edge, mentally lost on the pleasure he’s bringing her. She gasps sharply as her legs tense, head falling back on the pillow as the pleasure overwhelms her. When her release hits, she Virani pants out his name, her hips rolling against his tongue and fingers. Several waves of pleasure crash over her and she’s left trembling below him, unwound and senseless.    
  
“ _ Good girl… _ ”   
  
\- -

Virani pants quietly as she comes down, piecing herself back together slowly. She stares at the ceiling, brain a wonderfully quiet blank slate in this moment. It’s only when she hears the soft moan from Rakasha and feels him tremble between her legs that she realises he hasn’t come back up. She looks down at him to the top of his extra messy hair (thanks to her) as he slumps with a sigh. After a moment, he sits up finally untangling himself from her legs.    
  
“How do you feel?” he asks her quietly, looking her in the face. She averts her gaze for a moment, surprisingly shy and vulnerable feeling. There was no going back at this point. The deed had been done. Virani eventually looks at him to answer his question.    
  
“I feel… really, really good…” she says honestly, quietly. He smiles wide, a genuine smile, moving to place a gentle kiss to her forehead.    
  
“M’glad. That was the idea, after all…” he teases with a slight grin, his nose wrinkling with mirth. She gives a soft laugh.   
  
“What about you?”   
  
In that moment, he holds up his hand. His fingers are coated in a thick milky fluid and he slowly sucks one clean.   
  
“Already taken care of.”   
  


Oh. Blush.    
  
“Do you need anything, love?” he asks quietly as he cleans his fingers. She can’t help but stare and watch.    
  
“N-no. I think… well, maybe some water…”

He nods and stands to fetch her a glass from the pitcher in the room. Rakasha returns after a moment, glass in hand. His shorts are back up around his waist and she finds that she is a little disappointed by that. Virani takes the glass when he offers it and quickly drains half of it before putting it aside. He climbs back into the bed next to her and gives another quick peck to her forehead.    
  
“Sleep well, darling…”    
  
Virani does fall asleep quickly, out moments after her eyes fall closed. She sleeps hard and peacefully, dreaming of nothing and only waking when the sun beamed directly onto her face the next morning.    
  
\- -    
  
Rakasha wasn’t in the bed when she awoke. His belongings were still there, but he wasn’t. She shifts and sits up, looking around the room and remembering quite clearly what had taken place between them. She hides her face in her hands. Now she had to look at him. She had to look at him and keep travelling with him. Virani sighs and lifts her head to look around the room. Nothing told the tale of their night aside from her state of undress.    
  
She climbs out of the bed and cleans up quietly before dressing for the day. She heads downstairs to find her party mates at a table. Astrid waves her over to them and she cooly, casually sits at the table. Rakasha sips his cup of  _ strong _ tea, watered down with only a bit of milk.    
  
“Sleep well?” Astrid starts, perky and bright first thing in the morning in a way that always fascinated Virani. How could a person be  _ perky _ at 8 am?    
  
“Yeah… slept great, actually,” Virani says after a moment. She did feel pretty good. Well rested and… in a good mood? Other than the wonder at Astrid’s perky nature.    
  
“Good to  _ finally _ be in a real bed,” Rakasha says with a nod and a casual flick of his free hand. He sips his tea and sits sideways in his seat so he may cross his legs, like a true bisexual.    
  
“A real bed with time flowing the  _ correct _ way.”   
  
He puts his cup down on the table and sighs contentedly, even though he looks incredibly uncomfortable sitting with his back twisted the way he does. Virani tries to not stare at him.    
  
They eat their breakfast, chatting. Rakasha catches her staring and gives her a quiet wink when no one else is looking. They finish their meals, grab their belongings and quickly set out on the road again.    
  
“You’re in a good mood today, Virani,” Nibbles says casually as they pack their horses for the road. “Better than normal.”   
  
“Yeah, well that’s what a good night of sleep will do for you.”    
  
Nibbles hums and narrows her eyes at Virani suspiciously. Could Nibbles some how tell? Did he leave a mark on her somewhere? Virani remains the visage of cool, but is silently panicking in her mind for the moments that Nibbles stares at her. However, the gnome seems to accept this answer as concrete fact and shrugs before climbing onto her goat.    
  
“Let’s get outta here!”


	2. All The Best Laid Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahahaha part two is longer fuck. Everyone gets a speaking line this time.

It had been two days since their little fling. Rakasha hadn’t had the time to really think about it. They had been travelling, talking, as a group. Cassonetto really didn’t leave very much room for still air, chatting steadily as they made their way to Trinity. Really, he could talk about literally anything. A lot of what he said made no sense to Rakasha. Who was Antonio Banderas? Where was Toledo? What, in fact, was a dumpster? He stopped asking questions long ago.    
  
Rakasha doesn’t quite know how he ended up with a gnome barbarian as his best friend, but this was where his life was. Cassonetto truly loved him, probably in the same way Gorb loved him. They did have a good time together and (once you got used to his stench, at least) he was a good roommate. Somehow it had felt like they were a weird, old married couple. Even in their party they were joined at the hip. Every magic user needed a tank, after all, and it seemed he had found his in Cassonetto.    
  
When it comes time to camp, Rakasha quickly completes the ritual to encase their space in a protective, hidden bubble which is camouflaged excellently by Nibbles and Astrid. It had covered their ass more than once, so they continued to use it whenever they needed to camp. It was nice to have a warm, dry place to sleep no matter what was going on weather wise and it gave them an added layer of protection from people that may have been looking for them. Rakasha and possibly Cassonetto (it seemed no one could tell Cassonetto and Nibbles apart) were currently being chased, so it had certainly come in handy.

This evening was clear as the party settled down for the night. Rakasha played his lute and sang songs, some together with Cassonetto, some that they all sang along with. As the evening wound down and Rakasha finished his last song (something original about apples he had written in the rudimentary gnomish that Cassonetto had somehow managed to teach him) the team parted ways for the night and slipped into their tents. Rakasha and Cassonetto remained at the fire, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings while their teammates slept.    
  
Rakasha quietly pens notes in his notebook, changing some lyrics and musical composition of his songs. All of his magic was in this book - his rituals, the music he created. He was currently tweaking the last little bits of the song that would become his own twist on Mike’s Hard Lemonade, the spell he’d picked up off some asshole named (you guessed it) Mike some days prior. He didn’t like that name, and he had mostly settled on what he would play, but he also just debated screaming the word LEMON and lobbing them at whoever their target was. He was workshopping it with himself.    
  
“You’re really inspired by fruit, huh, best friend?”   
  
The question from Cassonetto comes out of left field. Most things regarding Cassonetto come out of left field. Rakasha takes it in stride and answers dryly, but in a way that seems sincere, “I suppose I am. Maybe one day I’ll write a one man show and call it  _ Fruit Salad _ .”   
  
“ _ Ohhh _ , you mean like The Wiggles?”   
  
“Sure,” Rakasha says simply with a nod. He didn’t know what that was. Rakasha pauses, staring through the current page in his notebook. He considers Cassonetto’s words and the night thus far with his song choices. Perhaps he was, for some reason, inspired by fruit. At least in regards to using fruit as a metaphor. How oddly observant of his best friend. The realization that Cassonetto actually not only pays attention, but remembers minor details such as this is meaningful to him, even if Cassonetto probably thought he was singing about actual fruit - such as his song about apples from earlier. Apples were a cover for Virani, but no one but him was supposed to know that.

He flips the page in his notebook, looking over the notes he had been taking to write more. Cassonetto chats with him, pointing out stars and the shapes of clouds, one of which he is completely convinced is in the shape of a round, shapely butt. Rakasha isn’t convinced entirely, but goes along with it just to make him happy. 

Cassonetto becomes emotional at one point at the shape of a cloud that reminds him of a particularly foul bout of intestinal gas. He launches into the tale, spiraling almost out of control into a story about refried beans, bubble guts, trash cans and potentially rabid animals.    
  
He never finishes his story, as he is reminded mid-tale when he begins discussing the rabid animals that he invited a family of racoons into his room at the last town they had roomed in. Cassonetto confesses to Rakasha that he may or may not have smuggled the family of raccoons in his bag on their way out of town that morning. Also they may or may not have been in his tent right now. 

Rakasha really doesn’t believe that, taking it as Cassonetto’s usual (at times incoherent) rambling about things that don’t exist or make sense to him. He entertains the notion still, for his friend, and soothes Cassonetto’s worries about these hypothetical raccoons and their hypothetical rabies.   
  
Rakasha manages to calm Cassonetto’s fears before Virani slips out of her tent for the shift switch. Rakasha is still writing in his notebook, letting her know he’s just finishing up something quickly before he heads to bed. Cassonetto slips to his tent after bidding the two of them good night. He also adds quickly, “To tend to the raccoons!”   
  
It takes him longer than he intends to finish up. Virani is quiet and when he finally looks up he can feel the bit of awkward tension there, left over from their completely unaddressed romp two days prior. Rakasha looks back down and flips a page, writing out his internal argument with himself.

This wasn’t something he had planned on, but the opportunity was presenting itself. Confessing his growing affection towards Virani was something Rakasha had been contemplating doing since their battle with the succubus in the abyss. They were alone together in a way that didn’t draw suspicion from the rest of their party. This was possibly the only chance he would have for a while so there was heavy pressure to do this now.   
  
He had attacked the succubus without a second thought. Seeing Virani charmed by her… something in him snapped in a way he hadn’t experienced in a while. Rakasha had quietly made peace with his growing feelings before their tryst in the Abyss, content to teasingly flirt with her over dinner and silently enjoy the way she got flustered whenever he put on a dress. The thought of it makes him smile to himself, nearly grinning like a fool down at his notebook.    
  
Rakasha had only ever met one other tiefling. Someone from his childhood, from a different identity and a different life. He never thought he would ever meet another one, let alone someone like Virani. She was familiar with the struggle of being a tiefling, of living a life in secrecy. She knew what it felt like to have everyone think you were a monster. Virani was capable, a great fighter and excellent teammate. They played off of each other well, their unique abilities meshing so well that he found himself learning from her. It didn’t hurt that she was  _ incredibly _ easy to look at - both in and out of disguise. She also didn’t judge him, taking all of the dark things about himself that he was deeply ashamed of in stride and unblinking.   
  
Virani had even thought he was  _ incapable _ of doing what he had done to his wife. The way her assumption that someone else had murdered her, and not that he had driven her to take her own life had been explosively meaningful. It also made Rakasha feel incredibly guilty. Ah, someone else he had tricked into thinking he was a good person. Really, he was the  _ worst _ , but he couldn’t help himself. Rakasha was developing some growing feelings for Virani and those feelings were going deeper than friendship. They were now at a point where he was willing to fight to protect her. He couldn’t tell you when they had gotten so serious.    
  
After his wife, he swore he would never get emotionally involved again. It was too much of a risk. Despite all of his best intentions and all of his plans, however, this is where he was. He was miles away from home, developing feelings for one of his party members and he was on the run again. Rakasha is incredibly frustrated with himself that he’s over here worrying about his lovelife when there were significantly more serious things that he needed to be thinking about. They were on the verge of war, for one thing. More importantly, he was being hunted and he had stupidly done a deal (sort of?) with a demon lord. And yet here he was, like a dumb teenager, weighing the pros and cons of confessing his feelings. 

Rakasha stares at the page. He had been internally stewing for almost ten minutes and his list was useless and his argument had gotten nowhere. He decides ultimately that he’s going to tell her. Rakasha had only ever done this once before and it had worked out… relatively well, at least before parents got involved. That was a 100% success rate! And there were no elven parents to worry about with Virani. There was just Virani.    
  
Raksha quietly folds his notebook closed and clears his throat, looking up at the sky. It takes him a moment but he finally speaks, tilting his eyes in her direction,   
  
“How long have we been at this?”   
  
\- - _   
_ _   
_ It had gone better than he had hoped. Rakasha had crashed on his belly in his tent soon after spilling his guts to Virani. He slept hard and soundly, feeling a little lighter in the chest at the vulnerability and the relief that at least tonight he didn’t need to wander away into the darkness. There was no outright rejection. If there had been no interest  _ at all _ the other night wouldn’t have happened. At least, that was what he told himself when he was weighing the pros and cons of spilling his guts back in the Abyss.    
  
“Rakasha…?”   
  
His eyes snap open and he stares up at the face of Astrid, looking down at him. He must have flipped onto his back at some point in the last three hours. Her brows are knit with worry, hand clutched desperately around her frying pan as the other shakes him awake. He grunts, letting her know he's up as his body works to catch up to his brain.    
  
“Rakasha, Virani said she heard something right before it was time to switch shifts. She went out by herself again and told me to stay here and to wake you up if she wasn’t back in ten minutes. It’s been fifteen!” Astrid spills out, her voice pitched with worry. At the mention of Virani running off alone again, his body seems to catch up with his brain. He sighs and sits up quickly, carding a hand through his mess of black hair. Had she learned  _ nothing _ from being turned into a statue?    
  
“I’ll find her,” he says, his voice still thick with sleep. He yawns, stretches and is quickly up out of his tent, Astrid in tow.    
  
“Should I go with you? W-what if something happens?”   
  
Rakasha shakes his head, heading for Applebottom Jeans. He tugs on her lead to wake her before hiking himself up onto her back. She snorts and tugs grumpily, shaking her head from being awoken so rudely. He pats her neck to soothe her, apologising quietly in her ear before addressing Astrid again.   
  
“No, stay here. Someone needs to be around to wake the others in case something happens. If we need help, I’ll send you a message. If we aren’t back by sunrise, come looking for us.”   
  
“Okay…” Astrid says, reluctance in her voice. She also remembers what happened to Virani last time and is assuming the worst. Rakasha can see it on her face. He smiles down at Astrid reassuringly, leaning down to pat her fluffy blue hair.    
  
“Don’t worry. If we can escape the abyss, we can do anything.”   
  
That seems to soothe her enough. She nods, the grip on her frying pan loosening finally before she steps away from Rakasha to sit by the fire.    
  
“Be safe!” she says with a slight wave. Rakasha gives her a winning smile and a wink.   
  
“You know it!” he replies with confidence before snapping the reins and heading off in the direction Astrid directs that Virani had run in.    
  
\- -   
  
Rakasha rides out across the plain. The grass is tall, so Virani’s trail past their camp was somewhat obvious. He follows it, riding through her path carved through the grass. All the worst scenarios pop through his head, that perhaps the five extra minutes that Astrid had waited before waking him could be what ends her life. He tries to not dwell on that thought, focusing most of his attention towards following the trail and looking for any signs of a fight.    
  
Rakasha, however, doesn’t ride for long. Ten minutes of riding in and he comes across Virani, sitting on her horse, just looking out at the plain casually. She seems fine, almost as if she’s waiting for something. He slows his ride as he approaches her. Certainly she can hear him. It’s not like he’s trying to be quiet.    
  
“Virani!”    
  
Rakasha calls out to her and she turns to look at him, looking no different than she had some three hours prior. He stares at her concerned, even though she seems fine. Seems fine doesn’t mean anything considering.    
  
“Everything okay?”   
  
“Yeah. Glad I could count on Astrid to wake you. What took you?” Virani replies with a quirked brow, shifting her horse to face him properly.   
  
“She said she waited an extra five minutes. Did you find anything?”   
  
“Oh there wasn’t any danger, I just wanted to get you out here alone.”   
  
Rakasha is confused, looking at her with a strange expression. He couldn’t have possibly known what she wanted from him. Unless it was to… give him an answer? No, it was too fast. It was foolish to hope for an answer so quickly. Romance wasn’t something to worry about  _ now _ , they were trying to stop a war! As if he hadn’t just confessed his feelings some hours ago. He was the weird one for thinking about  _ love _ during  _ rising political tensions. _   
  
“Okay. Well, I’m here. W-what uhm… what do you need?” he asks curiously, his tone a little tight with anxiety.    
  
Virani slips off of her horse to the ground amongst the grass, “Come with me.”   
  
“On foot?” Rakasha asks as he shifts to slide off of his horse, as well. Virani rolls her eyes a little in response.    
  
“No. By flight.”   
  
She grabs his hand and tugs him away from their horses, who contentedly graze. He lets her lead, staring at the back of her head (and maybe her butt just a little bit) as she leads him some ways away from their horses. Eventually she stops walking and lets his hand go before turning to face him. Virani looks up at him, a slight flush lighting up her brown skin.    
  
“I have an answer,” she says, her voice steady. If she’s nervous, he can’t tell. Aside from the blush on her face, she seems confident. Rakasha’s heart begins to race in his chest. He tries to look cool, licking his lips as he regards her.   
  
“O-oh? So soon?” he tries to not sound hopeful. He doesn’t really want to believe she could ever return his affection because that would make the loss easier. Not sleeping with her two days ago also probably would have made the rejection a lot easier. But, he argues with himself, she wouldn’t have called him out here for a  _ rejection _ , would she? She could just… not answer! Rakasha’s mind spun wild branching scenarios in seconds as he looked at her, expression not betraying the raging storm in his mind.   
  
“I--,” she hesitates for half a second before shaking her head, “The feeling’s mutual.”   
  
The storm in his mind quiets, all threads of wildly impossible scenarios suddenly fizzling out. Rakasha stares incredulously at her for a moment. It’s almost as if he doesn’t hear her fully. It takes longer than it should to process, several long moments passing. Then, once it sinks in, his lips slowly spread wide in a true grin that meets his eyes, a little twinkle that’s visible even in the illusion.    
  
“Aha… really?” His voice is airy and light with unrepressed joy, “I’m so happy…”    
  
Virani’s flush seems to deepen and, after a moment, she tilts up to kiss him gently. Rakasha feels himself relax and he returns her kiss. He wraps his arms around her body, pulling her close to him. Kissing Virani like this was nice. It was different than two nights ago, where he had kissed her to distract her from his body. Not his best move, but he was tipsy and panicked and she had been touching him.   
  
Raksha deepens the kiss after another few moments, his hands slowly beginning to feel over her body, but keeping it mostly respectful. Virani is the one that makes the first move this time, her hands clamping firmly onto his butt and squeezing. He breaks the kiss laughing quietly but subtly pressing back into her grasp.    
  
“Feel better?” he murmurs softly against her lips. She hums pecking him again.    
  
“Yeah,” Virani replies, tilting up to kiss him again and nipping at his bottom lip. Rakasha’s brow quirks slightly as he returns her kisses.    
  
“Careful you don’t start something we can’t finish…”   
  
Virani’s grip on his ass gets tighter, her eyes meeting his. There’s a heat there that he feels building similarly in himself.   
  
“ _ That _ all depends on how much time  _ you _ gave us…”   
  
Right. Until the rest of the party would come looking for them. Rakasha huffs out a soft laugh, praising past him for being cautious.    
  
“‘Till dawn,” he says, lips quirking into a grin. Oh, they had plenty of time then. But they had been out here alone for a bit, and it had already been half an hour since Virani had left. Plenty of time, but they couldn’t be too indulgent. They still had to sleep, after all.   
  
“Plenty of time,” she says softly, audibly confirming his thoughts. He can feel her lips smiling against his. Rakasha tilts his head to peck her lips once more before pulling back a bit further before they can get started.    
  
“One thing before we do. A… suggestion. For safety,” he says, his arms falling from where they hold her. He moves to pull off his ring of illusion, tucking it neatly into his pocket. The illusion he keeps of a pale man with a wild mop of black hair falls away neatly, revealing the blue tiefling underneath. Virani looks up at him, tilting her head curiously. He giggles a bit, grinning.    
  
“If we’re caught, all people are going to see is two demons fucking in a field. They probably don’t wanna fool with that, you know?”   
  
Virani pauses for a moment, staring at him before laughing quietly. Her hands leave their place clutched tight around his butt. She pulls off her ring as well, slipping it into her pockets and standing before him the way she was meant to be seen.    
  
Rakasha cannot help but to stare. He didn’t get to see her often, but everytime he did it made his heart flutter. Virani’s human illusion was attractive. He would call her “adorable”, but he assumes she would probably not like that very much. She looked similar enough as a tiefling, but something about the sight of her without her illusion was beautiful to him. Her features didn’t mirror his, but resembled them enough. Her horns were slightly curved up, shorter than his which curled back like a goat’s. Her skin was a stunning ruby red, a beautiful contrast to ultramarine blue skin. Rakasha was staring at her openly, grinning and positively stunned by her.   
  
“Makes perfect sense to me,” she says quietly, a little shy under his blatant oogling. Gods above and below, she was  _ beautiful _ . He sighs, lovestruck in the moment by her in the moonlight. After another long moment, Rakasha shifts to tilt her chin back with his fingers before pressing his lips to hers once more. The kiss is soft for only a moment before he deepens it, putting his growing passion for her into it. His tail shifts, wrapping loosely around her as his hands shift to touch her.    
  
Virani slides one hand into his hair, gripping it loosely while her other grips his butt again, kneading it. He grins against her lips, finding her attention flattering and amusing. Really, she could grab his ass  _ anytime _ . He wore tight pants for a reason and it was nice to know his efforts weren’t going unnoticed. Rakasha returns the affection, one hand groping a breast through her clothing while the other makes it way slowly to her butt. He breaks the kiss to trail them down to her neck, having to hold himself back from sucking on the skin. He doesn’t know if she wants the others to know. He assumes not and behaves himself. Mostly. He still makes Virani sigh when he gropes her.    
  
They part to pull off their clothing, throwing it aside absently so they may quickly meet again. He doesn’t get a chance to look at her body, too busy peppering kisses over her neck. His hand cups the breast he was groping, flicking his thumb over her nipple to harden it up. He spends more time teasing her than before, both hands groping her breasts and pinching her nipples gently. Virani’s tail slides around him, the end wrapping around his ankle and squeezing slightly as he teases her.   
  
“I-I owe you one, eh..?” she mutters, her voice getting thick with her building arousal. Rakasha chuckles against her skin but shakes his head.    
  
“You owe me nothing, love… there are no obligations,” he says quietly, his tone also growing thick with his desire. Virani shakes her head, her hand suddenly but confidently moving from his butt to his dick, giving it a slight squeeze. He jolts, not having expected the sudden grope and embarrassingly throbs in her hand from the touch. His control on the situation stumbles.    
  
“What if I  _ want _ to?”   
  
Rakasha lets out a strange, harsh breath as Virani slowly begins to fondle and stroke him. He hardens up further in her hand and he licks his lips. He can’t deny that he would really, really enjoy it. Rakasha simply nods, his legs parting just a bit to steady himself.    
  
“Yeah? Alright, then...”   
  
Virani kisses him again, an action he easily returns. She continues to stroke and fondle his cock, bringing it to life in her hands. It doesn’t take much for his switch to be flipped, and soon he’s heavy in her grasp. Rakasha watches her sink to her knees quietly, his hand gently petting her hair once she settles in front of him. Just the sight of her there makes him throb with building desire. He doesn’t rush her, however, petting her encouragingly as she moves at her own pace. Her eyes are focused quite intently on him, hands continuing to work him over.    
  
After a moment, Rakasha lifts his eyes away from her and looks up across the field, thinking Virani may be shy with his gaze on her like that. It was hard to not look at her. Soon, he feels her lips and tongue on him, kissing and licking. He sighs, fingers curling in her hair gently and his eyes falling half lidded at the attention.   
  
Virani builds up her confidence slowly, using her hands, lips and tongue to maddeningly tease him. He’s dripping before she even takes him into her mouth. It is, perhaps, an obvious tell of how much he’s into her. Rakasha hums low, a thumb petting through her hair and up one of her horns when he feels her lips wrap around him.    
  
“Ah, don’t let me finish okay... ? This isn’t where this ends tonight…”    
  
His voice is thick and low with desire, a husky whisper hissed through teeth. Virani pauses for a moment, her movement slowing to a stop. Rakasha peers down at her then, to check in. Her face is a deeper shade of red, though it’s almost impossible to tell due to her natural skin tone and the low light of the moon. She nods slowly, meeting his eyes. The impossible to tell blush deepens on her face even more.    
  
“I’ll warn you, don’t worry,” he whispers, petting her reassuringly. He tilts his gaze up and she resumes her tease, the warmth of her mouth driving little bolts up his spine. Rakasha lets out a soft groan of pleasure, messing her hair a bit as he allows himself to sink in and enjoy what she’s doing for him. Both hands end up in her hair as heat builds in the base of his spine, beginning to rise up and making his legs tense. He barely resists pressing his hips forward.   
  
“Good girl…” he hisses through his teeth, his voice almost a growl. Suddenly, Virani’s lips are against his pelvis and his eyes roll some with the surprised moan he gives.    
  
“O-oh… y-you  _ do _ like that huh…” he doesn’t look at her, but there’s mirth in his voice, a grin cracking the corners of his lips. Virani seems encouraged by the praise from him, working her mouth over him quickly. He cannot help the laugh that bubbles out of him from her enthusiasm. He watches her unabashedly, the sight coupled with the feeling making the heat threaten to boil over faster than he anticipates. Rakasha has to physically halt her, gripping her hair tight as he draws his hips back.   
  
“Ah-ah-- gods  _ damn _ … easy… almost lost it…” Rakasha whispers through a giggle. Her hair and face are a mess and he has to look away from her, the sight almost enough to ruin things for him as he hadn’t come down quite enough. Rakasha steps away from Virani as she quietly wipes her mouth clean with her hand.   
  
Rakasha picks up their clothes and tosses them neatly onto the grass they had thus far trampled in their play. He turns to look over at her behind him. Virani is standing, arms crossed over her body, hiding it. His expression softens, understanding her shyness. He doesn’t chastise her emotion, and gives her a warm smile.    
  
“C’mere. Let me warm you up.”   
  
Virani hesitates, the battle with her brain clearly waging on her face. Normally, she was hard to read. That was probably on purpose. He attempted to be the same way. But in these moments between the two of them, there was just them. They were both being vulnerable. This may have been easier for Rakasha than Virani, but his experience mostly was transactional. This was different. There was emotion involved.    
  
Virani makes her way over to where Rakasha laid their clothes, her arms still crossed over her body. She hesitates and looks over at him.    
  
“You sure that’s a good idea? What if… stuff… gets everywhere?”   
  
Rakasha giggles like a twelve year old.  _ Stuff _ . It really was different with Virani. It wasn’t filth, like it was with his clients. Something about that realization makes something in his chest flutter. He enjoys the filth, too, but there was something to be said for something softer like this with someone he cared about.    
  
“Pervert.”   
  
Rakasha’s giggle grows into a full laugh and he slides his arm around her low back. Virani’s arms grow tighter around herself, but she leans into Rakasha’s touch.    
  
“That doesn’t bother you, does it?”   
  
“What?” Virani asks quietly, tilting her head some curiously as she regards him. Rakasha gives a slight uncomfortable shrug. Ah yes, here’s the vulnerability. It makes his skin crawl with fear as he considers his wording.    
  
“I’m a whore. Or I used to be. Before I met you lot.”   
  
Now he was a different sort of whore. Was this line of work really much different in terms of dignity? He wasn’t quite sure yet. The deadliness levels were certainly about matched, though.    
  
“You do what you gotta do to survive. Who am I to judge how people make ends meet? The world is cruel. I don’t think less of you, if that’s what you’re asking,” she says honestly and without much hesitation. Rakasha smiles wide and leans over to peck her forehead sweetly. He turns to her and attempts to fix her hair.   
  
“Well, thank you, but I wasn’t concerned with your judgement. If you felt ill about it, I would have known by now. Especially because I’ve turned at least one trick since we’ve met. No, I’m very secure in my choice of money making prior to now, it has however, indeed, made me a  _ gigantic _ pervert and that, my dear, is where my concern lies.”   
  
Virani’s hair is as neat as he can get it without a brush. When did he start  _ grooming _ her? God, he had it bad. Her expression is uncertain as she looks at him, a bit weary, “Depends on what you expect me to do…”   
  
Rakasha laughs warmly, resting his hands on her shoulders. At some point, the shy grip she had on her body fell away. Now she’s loosely wrapping her arms around him.   
  
“Don’t worry. We’ll go slow. Nothing now, we’re on borrowed time and in quite a public place, which is already a box ticked for me,” he grins wide and winks, his eyes twinkling. She frowns loudly, her expression somewhat alarmed.    
  
“Sorry, sorry,” he says with a slight wave of his hand. Is he joking or not? The world may never know.    
  
“Any… mess… that gets on our clothing can be blamed on the hypothetical battle we’re having right now. And considering the state we’ll be in when we’re done… it’ll add legitimacy to the lie…” his voice gets low as he seamlessly directs their attention back to what they had been doing. The hands on her shoulders pull her to him so they are skin to skin. Rakasha then tilts her head back with his fingers to look up at him, keeping her gaze meeting his so she can’t physically look away. He can hear Virani’s breath catch in her throat.   
  
“Now why don’t you be a  _ good girl _ and lie down for me so I can warm you up?” he mutters, voice low. He can feel the shudder that passes through her.    
  
“Yeah okay,” she says, her voice soft and light. She shifts and moves away from him and lies down on their things. Rakasha isn’t far behind her, kneeling in front of her. He runs his hands up over her legs and gently coaxes them so that her knees are bent and feet are on the ground. His tail wraps around her ankle loosely to keep her leg where it is. He sighs, both of his hands sliding up her inner thighs though completely ignoring the center of her legs for the moment.   
  
Rakasha touches every inch of skin open and available to him, appreciating her body in its natural state laid bare before him. He’s tempted to use his mouth again, but he knows he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from making her finish. Instead he settles between her legs, on his knees and begins to kiss over her breasts. His hand dips below, giving attention to where he had previously ignored moments before.    
  
Gently, carefully, Rakasha touches between her legs, petting gently over the slit before slipping his finger in to tease the folds, finding them somewhat slick already. He chuckles softly but makes no comment, content to suck on her nipple as he teases her. He pets her clit gently, making her gasp and shudder under him. Her hand is in his hair, pulling him absently closer to her chest.    
  
Rakasha nuzzles her breast, pulling away from the hard nub in his mouth to suck on her skin. His fingers continue to gently pet and tease, working over her clit until it’s firm under his fingers and her entrance is wonderfully slick. He leaves several bruises on her chest, having to restrain himself from biting her. Finally, he allows himself to slip two fingers into her again, curling them slightly to press against her gspot, which makes her groan.   
  
His fingers continue to tease Virani, working steadily, firmly but slowly until her arousal is audible under the teasing of his fingers. She writhes under him, her breath coming in desperate pants and gasps. Her moans of pleasure are so pretty and it takes considerable effort for him to not take her sooner. Eventually, pleased with her level of arousal he pulls away from her, looking down. She’s panting and flushed, looking so incredibly beautiful all unwound like this.   
  
“Are you ready, love?” he asks quietly, eyes slowly raking over her body to her face as he cleans his fingers of her fluids. She was warned - he was a pervert, and enjoying her like this was something he would do without shame. He never wanted her to worry that his desire for her was genuine.    
  
It seemed, however, that Virani had no such concern in this moment. Rakasha had done well in warming her up, her expression tells him.    
  
“If you don’t hurry the hell up and put it in me, I’m going to scream,” she nearly growls up at him. He can’t help the laugh that spills out of him, amused by her enthusiasm. Rakasha has no intention of denying Virani and scoots closer to her. He guides himself to her, his other hand keeping the leg not secured by his tail out of the way.    
  
“As you wish,” he mutters as he feeds himself into her slowly, sinking in and feeling as though he may melt in her warmth. He groans low, hands sliding to grip her waist as he rolls forward and pushes himself deeper until their hips meet. He sighs and doesn’t move immediately, enjoying the way she feels around him and looks under him. He curls down, pressing a firm kiss to her lips that he almost instantly deepens. She matches his heat and he finally moves, pulling his hips back only to shove back in a bit roughly.    
  
Virani breaks the kiss with her gasp, her hands sliding up Rakasha’s arms to wrap loosely around his shoulders. He moves a slow pace at first that builds rapidly. He doesn’t want to overwhelm her. Not yet. Rakasha wants to enjoy this - enjoy  _ her _ . He moans as well, soft through the panting from the effort of taking her. Rakasha can feel her thighs trembling a bit as her legs move to wrap around his waist, pulling him closer and shoving him deep.   
  
“Rakasha…” she whimpers out his name, it sounding  _ so cute _ to him while she’s like this. He lets out a harsh sigh, pulling back slightly and shoving his hips forward a bit more roughly than a moment before at the sound of her voice and the way her legs wrap around him.   
  
“ _ Call me Alexi… _ ” he mutters into her ear around his pleasure. He barely realizes that he says it, shifting forward to rest on his forearms as he rocks against her harder, speed building with his desperation.    
  
“A-alexi…” her voice is pitching, telling him how close to the edge she’s growing under him. Hearing his name in her voice like this does something to him. His hips shift and buck up into her erratically, skin smacking together with the force. She yelps, holding tightly onto him. Her voice is good in his ear, and her body is warm and wet and wonderfully tight. For just a moment, Rakasha loses himself in her, chasing the bliss her body brings him.   
  
Virani grips around him suddenly, her body trembling with the release that crashes over her. In his ear, her voice spills out, sounding so gods damned good to him. It almost makes him irresponsible, but he manages to pull himself out of her to spill on her belly up to her chest, his own hips shuddering with the force of his release.    
  
Together, they fight to catch their breath, slowly coming down from their high. Rakasha sighs and shifts so he doesn’t slump on her. Instead he sits up and looks down at her, covered in the mess he made. He very, very quietly wishes he could somehow keep an image of this for his own selfish reasons, though the memory would do just fine.    
  
“Here, let me clean you up…” he mutters quietly, shifting to pull away and out of her so that he may clean her up with his tongue. He parts his lips and sticks his tongue out, ready to lick when she halts him, hand in his hair quickly to grab his attention.    
  
“Y-you really don’t have to do it like that.”   
  
“How else do you plan on taking care of it, darling? I left my water supply back at camp and I certainly don’t expect  _ you _ to deal with it.”   
  
Virani considers his words, little starts of protest dying on her lips as soon as she speaks them. Rakasha has a point and she knows it. She quiets down and lets him do as he wishes. He does, tongue swiping over her skin and cleaning her of the evidence of their play. There is still some evidence in the bruises he left on her and the scratches she left on him, but their clothing could easily cover that. He’s quick about it, more than used to having to do this. When he’s finished he sits back up and takes a deep breath, sighing at how relaxed he feels. He could sleep now, but they had to head back. It was hard to gauge how long they had been gone, but it wasn’t dawn. Rakasha looks down at Virani, still under him and catching her breath.   
  
“How do you feel?” he murmurs to her quietly, reaching down to cup her cheek in his hand. Her eyes turn down a bit, but she nuzzles against him.    
  
“Really, really good…” Virani replies quietly, turning her head to kiss his palm. His tail slowly, finally loosens from its grip on her ankle and he reluctantly pulls away from her completely. Rakasha stands and holds his hand out to her to help her stand. Virani takes it, pulling herself up on wobbly legs. Slowly, they put themselves back together - picking up their clothes and putting them back on. Much to Virani’s delight, there isn’t a mess to explain. He had legitimately tried to avoid that issue.    
  
They do pause to share one more long kiss, Rakasha gently pulling Virani over to him once they were dressed to kiss her affectionately under the light of the moon. She returns it, gentle but returning the emotion behind the kiss. They part sooner than either of them want to and resume preparing to head back to camp.   
  
The last thing they had to contend with was the lie they would tell to Astrid once they returned relatively unscathed. Rakasha and Virani carefully climb back onto their horses to head back to camp. Once they settle in and begin to ride side by side, Rakasha looks at Virani as he slips his ring back onto his finger and the illusion settles comfortably over him once more.   
  
“So I think we should go with honey badgers…”   
  
\- -   
  
Astrid stands, hands clutched tight near her chest with relief as they neatly park their horses and slide off of them. The two of them look exhausted, and Astrid immediately rushes over to their side.    
  
“Is everything okay?” she asks quietly, but quickly. The two of them look at each other for a moment before Virani nods some.    
  


“Yeah. I thought I heard something nearby. It was a family of honey badgers. They were looking for food.” Virani says confidently but with a shrug. Rakasha chuckles, clapping his hand on Virani’s shoulder casually.    
  
“Got all freaked out for nothing. When I got there she was doin alright, just a bit overwhelmed by the number. Helped her out, patched her up. Just some bruises and scratches, no big deal.”   
  
Astrid buys the lie without question, deflating in relief that it was well and truly nothing important. She sits back down by the fire that’s settling finally into coals. Dawn hasn’t quite cracked the skyline, but things are starting to lighten up. They have a few more hours before they need to get back on the road.   
  
“Well, I don’t know about you all, but I’m  _ knackered _ , so I’m going to get the rest of my beauty sleep,” Rakasha says with a flick of his wrist. He yawns and heads back to his tent, stretching as he walks. Virani also yawns and does the same, heading for her tent.    
  
“See you in a few more hours, Astrid,” Virani says before slipping away for the rest of the night. Astrid bids the two of them to rest well, and she contentedly sits and watches over their camp for the remainder of the night.    
  
\- -   
  
Rakasha wakes up to the sound of Astrid singing to the local wildlife - much like most mornings on the road. Most, as in it didn’t happen if it was raining. It was strange to be able to tell the weather when he wakes up based on the singing of one of his friends. He narrows his eyes some. Yes, he could probably call them his friends. Them, other than Cassonetto.    
  
And Virani. Virani was emphatically more than a friend at this point, however. Memories of the prior night wash over him and he has to redirect his thoughts away quickly unless someone else happens to catch him in a vulnerable moment. He does, however, decide to quietly tease Virani that day and changes from his normal pinstripe vest, button down shirt and pants into one of his plethora of outfits - the pretty orange dress with a deep brown corset bustier and bell sleeves. Cassonetto had commissioned it for him some time ago and it still fit him well (and really, gave him  _ great _ cleavage). It really complimented his colouring when he wasn’t having to disguise himself. He fixes his hair so that it falls in somewhat neat waves down his deck to his shoulders versus the usual messy mop he keeps it in. After a bit of lipstick, rouge and eyeliner, he comes out of his tent and joins the rest of the party.    
  
“Oh, you look pretty today. What’s the occasion?” Nibbles asks around her ration, sitting next to the small fire re-lit for breakfast. Rakasha sits next to her reaching into the ration pile (they had so many fucking rations) to eat his breakfast. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Virani get flustered at the sight of him. He smiles to himself as he opens the rations, his ego quietly fueled for the moment. Rakasha is really on cloud nine this morning - so giddy and joyful despite their circumstances that the storm usually raging in his brain was temporarily quieted.    
  
“I wanna look my best when we stop this war from happening,” he says before shoving a handful of granola into his mouth. Nibbles nods in response to Rakasha, drinking a long swing of water before replying.   
  
“I can respect that.”   
  
“Oh best friend, what happened??” Cassonetto suddenly erupts behind him. Rakasha hums curiously, turning his head slightly when he feels Cassonetto’s small hands touch something a little sore on his back. He stiffens just a bit when the realization slams into him. The way the dress is cut in the back makes Virani’s scratches a little visible.    
  
“Uh…” he’s completely thrown off by the question, not having expected Cassonetto of all people to notice anything untoward about him.    
  
“Honey badgers!” Virani shouts, her voice cracking a bit. Everyone in the camp looks over at her, knelt on the ground in the middle of breaking down her tent. She looks a little bewildered at the sudden attention on her, as if she hadn’t just shouted in order to save Rakasha from stumbling. Still, that’s all the distraction he needs.    
  
“Ah yes, the honey badgers. Right, I had almost forgotten I had to get up in the middle of the night to do that…” Rakasha says lightly with a chuckle. He tilts his head to look back at Cassonetto.   
  
“After we went to bed, Virani apparently heard some honey badgers causing a fuss and thought it may have been something else. Astrid woke me up and I had to go help out. Tough little buggers. We’re fine though.”   
  
“You didn’t get bit, did you? You don’t have rabies or anything?”   
  
Cassonetto seems genuinely worried that something bad may have happened. That was understandable. Life on the road was treacherous.    
  
“No rabies.”   
  
Cassonetto shifts from worried to disappointed, frowning loudly before muttering, “Well, alright…”    
  
The rest of the morning is calm. They eat, pack up their tents, stomp out the fire and let down the bubble. They were in a bit of a hurry. Armies were being called and if the artifact wasn’t returned quickly, they would be in the middle of a war and that was the last thing Rakasha wanted to deal with. If there was a war he’d probably just go live in the furthest corner of Gorb’s bunker and never come out again.    
  
Leaving home that day and checking out the jobs board  _ just to see _ was a weird sort of decision he was still trying to come to terms with. It had been a weird urge, and his life had changed so much since they had been started. All of his best intentions and well laid plans had instantly fallen away the moment he had accepted the job with this relative group of strangers. He had yet to decide whether or not the idea had been a smart one. 


End file.
